You never know
by thai.khue
Summary: A random bedtime conversation of Harry and his foster father, a few days before school starts, when they are at Hogwarts as the teachers are preparing for the new school year. An extended scene of 'Ella'. Fluff.


Harry has been so excited today that the moment Severus sits down besides his bed, he automatically grabs the blanket and tucks himself in, leaving the man unemployed for the first time since they began his whole tucking in business.

"I am quite positive you have consumed a considerable amount of sugar at some point today," Severus frowns and drums his fingers at the blanket seam.

The boy flushes:

"Not that much…"

"At Professor Virtanen's quarters, I assume?"

"How can you know?"

"Where else could you have got sweets from? The Quidditch pitch?," Severus smirks.

"It's not her fault. She withdrew the sweets when she realised I was taking too much," Harry murmurs.

"When exactly did I say it was her fault? It was yours. And no, hiding your face under the blanket doesn't help. You won't find yourself anywhere near anything sweet for the whole day tomorrow."

"Okay," he pouts while uncovering his face.

"Don't bother Professor Virtanen too much. This time is the busiest time of the year for teachers and you know it."

"She said I wasn't bothering her."

"Still, you ought to have some refraining on your part. She is new. I'm sure the workload is way heavier for her than it is for the rest of us."

"It's boring. Hagrid is busy with his lesson planning too. So are you."

"And so is Professor Virtanen, whom you will refrain from pestering."

Harry pouts once more before changing the topic:

"What do you think about her?"

"About whom?"

"We are talking about Professor Virtanen."

"And why would I be thinking about her to begin with?"

"She is your colleague."

"I have had several colleagues at this school all my life and you never asked what I think about them."

Harry fidgets.

"She is cool. She has traveled everywhere."

"Ethnographers tend to do that."

"Can I become an ethogarpher too when I grow up?"

"Ethnographer. And it's not me who is to tell you yes or no. The chancellor of the Academy of Wizardkind Studies is, when you apply for the training program. That is if this sudden interest does last until you graduate from Hogwarts, which I highly doubt."

"Why? It's interesting. You get to travel everywhere and meet all kinds of people."

"I don't know much about ethnographers' life but I'm sure it's not all cool like it sounds. Remember the day she was stuck in the storm and standing helplessly in front of our door? It seems to me she was quite used to it – which means as an ethnographer you have a high chance of getting into such situations on a regular basis. That is not to mention other kinds of hardship we are yet unaware of. It's not all about having fun. It's work."

"You are saying that I can't become one."

"I am only saying that there is much more to said profession than the cool stuffs and stories presented to you in a classroom, the subject of which is even not ethnography."

Harry yawns and struggles to keep his eyes open to keep on the conversation.

"What do you want me to do when I grow up?"

"Why are you asking me? That's a question you ask yourself."

"Like, you don't imagine me becoming anything? Something that makes you proud?"

Severus almost smiles at that.

"Apart from a criminal or a lazy useless member of society, almost everything you have the potential to become is deemed prideworthy."

"Really?," Harry yawns again and slips into another topic. "I don't know what to do tomorrow. It's boring."

"Whatever you plan to do, refrain from pestering other teachers. Especially Professor Virtanen. You have been pestering her all day long today."

"Can I stay down here and pester you instead?"

Severus sighs loudly.

"Why am I always at the receiving end of your problems?"

Harry giggles.

"You should have thought more carefully before adopting me."

Severus pauses for a moment, watching the sleepy face he has grown to adore. A Snape adoring something, it's a real feat. Most of that face carries James Potter's genes, which makes it even a bigger feat.

"You never know how carefully I had thought."

He isn't sure whether the child hears it or not before falling asleep.

Yet another night.


End file.
